81.5.The maternity leave shall not begin before the sixteenth week preceding the expected date of delivery and shall not end later than 18 weeks after the week of delivery.

Where the child is hospitalized during the maternity leave, the leave may be suspended, following an agreement with the employer, during the hospitalization.

In addition, an employee who sends to the employer, before the expiry date of her maternity leave, a notice accompanied with a medical certificate attesting that the state of health of the employee or of her child requires it, is entitled to an extension of the maternity leave for the duration indicated in the medical certificate.